HUMAN EVOLUTION
Evolution has been a subject of debate for a very long
time.
Charles Darwin explained his theory of evolution by
natural selection in his book On the origin of species.
According to Darwin living organisms change over
time due to change in the environmental conditions.
He explained that there is variation among
organisms of the same species.
HUMAN EVOLUTION
When the environment changes organisms that have
suitable characteristics are able to survive and
reproduce further.
Those organisms that do not have suitable
characteristics for the changed environment die out
as they cannot adapt to the environmental changes.
This is called survival of the fittest.
HUMAN EVOLUTION
Darwin further suggested that human beings may share a
common ancestry with apes.
Most scientists today also believe that human beings had a
common ancestry with apes.
In this section we are going to try and find what scientists
think about our ancestors in terms of:
▪ how they looked like
▪ how they evolved into modern-day humans and
▪ where and when this evolution took place.
HUMAN EVOLUTION
Before we start we will have a look at the
following:
▪ Our place in the Animal Kingdom
▪ Evidence that all living primates, including
humans, share a common ancestor.
▪ Characteristics that make us different from other
primates (i.e. the characteristics that make us
human)
OUR PLACE IN THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
All living organisms are classified into the five kingdoms, one of
which is Animalia or Animal Kingdom.
There are two main groups in the animal kingdom, namely:
invertebrates and vertebrates.
The vertebrates are further divided into the following 5 classes:
Class Pisces (fishes)
Class Amphibia (frogs and toads)
Class Aves (birds)
Class Reptilia (snakes and lizards) and
Class Mammalia (rabbits, monkeys, humans, etc)
OUR PLACE IN THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
Carl Linnaeus classified modern humans in the order
Primates of the class Mammalia.
Evidence that all living primates,
including humans, share a common
ancestor
➢ The following characteristics shared by all primates,
including humans, show that they share a common
ancestor:
▪ The upper limbs
➢ Long upper arms which can move freely in the
shallow socket (glenoid cavity).
➢ They have nails instead of claws to help in precision
work like making and using tools.
➢ They have opposable thumbs, i.e. their thumbs work
in the opposite direction to their fingers.
Evidence that all living primates, including
humans, share a common ancestor
The thumbs can be pressed against the fingers for
the hand to form a grip for grasping tree branches
and climbing.
Apes and humans can use their fingers and thumbs
in a precision grip like holding an axe or hammer.
Evidence that all living primates,
including, share a common ancestor
▪ The brain
Primates have large brains relative to their body
masses to allow them to make sense of the
information as they move from tree to tree.
Evidence that all living primates, including
humans, share a common ancestor
▪ Vision
➢ Earlier primates had to move quickly by swinging
from branch to branch with their hands overhead.
This is called brachiation hence their eyes are in
front.
➢ This position of the eyes helps them to focus at an
object with both eyes, a phenomenon called binocular
or stereoscopic vision
Evidence that all living primates, including
humans, share a common ancestor
▪ Number of offspring
➢ All primates, including humans, have fewer offspring
than many other mammals.
➢ Their young ones are dependent on their parents
much longer.
➢ This allows adults to teach the young essential life
skills.
Evidence that all living primates, including
humans, share a common ancestor
▪ Upright posture
➢ All primates can sit in an upright position.
➢ This allows them to have a better view of the
surroundings .
➢ It also allows the animal to walk on two legs
to free the upper limbs in order to carry
things, e.g. food, tools and babies.
Characteristics we share with other
primates
Upright posture
Large brains/skulls compared to their body mass
Long upper arms
Eyes in front/binocular vision/stereoscopic vision
Eyes with cones/colour vision
Two mammary glands only
Freely rotating arms
Characteristics we share with other
primates
Elbow joints allowing rotation of forearm
Flat nails instead of claws/bare finger tips
Opposable thumbs which work in opposite direction to
their fingers
Sexual dimorphism/distinct differences between male and
female
Rotate hands at least 180º
Olfactory brain centres reduced/reduced sense of smell
Parts of the brain that process information from the
hands and eyes are enlarged
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
Bipedalism (ability to walk on two feet)
All primates can walk on feet time and again, i.e.
occasionally.
Human beings walk on feet all the time.
The foramen magnum in bipedal animals is situated
towards the front of the base of the skull.
In other primates the foramen magnum is at the
back of the skull
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
Flat Face
Human beings belong to the species Homo sapiens characterised
by a flat face.
Other species of Homo such as Homo habilis, Homo erectus and
Homo neanderthalensis, did not have flat faces.
The flat face in humans result from:
▪ Forehead that does not slope backwards like those of ape men.
▪ Lower jaw with well-developed chin.
▪ Nasal bones (bones of the nose) that do not stick out. Humans are
not prognathous.
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
Shape of jaws
Human jaws are gently curved while those of other
primates are U-shaped.
Dentition
The dental formula of oldest primates is 2:1:3:3
2:1:3:3
That of humans is 2:1:2:3
2:1:3:3
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
An enlarged brain
Humans have the largest brain size than all primates.
Generally, animals with larger brain sizes compared to their
body masses are more intelligent than those with smaller brain
sizes
Language
Many apes that exist today can communicate by means of
various sounds.
Only humans can communicate in clear and understandable
languages.
Change in dentition
C
C C
A
A A
D
Australopichus africanus Homo habilis Homo Sapiens
The structures that characterise human evolution
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
Homo Sapiens (Humans) Other primates
1. Larger cranium/brain 1. Smaller cranium /brain
2. Flat face/ Forehead slope less 2. Face sloping/ Foreheads slope
backwards much backwards
3. Foramen magnum forward/ 3. Foramen magnum at the back of
bottom of the skull the skull
4. Brow ridges are not as 4. Brow ridges pronounced
pronounced
5. Smaller canines 5. Larger canines
CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE US
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PRIMATES
Homo Sapiens (Humans) Other primates (Chimpanzees)
6. Smaller spaces between the 6. Larger spaces between the
teeth teeth
7. Jaws with teeth on a 7. Jaws with teeth in a
gentle/round curve rectangular/U shape
8. Less protruding jaws 8. More protruding jaws/
prognathous
9. Lower jaw has a well 9. Lower jaw has poorly
developed chin developed chin
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
The general pattern of human development which scientists agree on
is as follows:
Ape-like ancestor ape men early humans modern humans
Ape-like beings appeared about 38 mya.
Between 5 to 25 mya the first apes appeared.
These apes were believed to be on the same development line as
human beings.
They were referred to as the dryopithecine apes ranging in size from
the small gibbons to large modern apes.
The first bipedal primates appeared about 6 to 7 mya.
An example of this primate is Toumai (Sahelanthropus tchadensis)
found in Chad in 2001 by Michael Brunet and his team.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Another species of primates called Australopithecus
appeared approximately 4 mya.
This species of primates had the following features:
protruding jaws
heavy brow-ridges
long sloping face and
a small brain
From the neck downwards these primates looked like
modern human beings and are thus called ape men.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Examples of fossils of australopithecines include:
Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), 3.2 million years old,
discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia by Donald Johnson, Yves Copan
and Tim White.
Taung child (Astralopithecus Africanius), 2.6 to 2.8 years old,
found in 1924 by Raymond Dart outside Taung village in North
West Province.
Mrs Ples (Astralopithecus Africanius), an adult form of the
Taung child, discovered in 1947 in the Sterkfontein caves.
Its full name given to it is Plesianthropus, initially thought to
be female.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
In 2002, a paleoanthropologist, Francis Thackery, concluded that
Mrs Ples was actualy a male.
Karabou (Austalopithecus sediba) was discovered by a 9- year old
boy, Mathe Berger, at Malapa in the Cradle of Human Kind.
Mathew Berger only found the fossils of the lower jaw and clavicle
(collar bone).
In 2009 Mathew’s father, Lee Berger and a team from Wits, found
the skull.
The fossil was nicknamed ‘Karabou’, which means the answer.
Scientists think that Karabou is a transition between
Austalopithecus Africanus and Homo Habilis or Homo erectus
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Little Foot was discovered in the Sterkfontein caves by Ron Clerk with
the help of Steven Motsomi and Nkwane Molefe
According to scientists, Australopithecus gave rise to many branches of
development.
They believe that about two mya, one line of development gave rise to
early humans, Homo habilis which appears to be similar to
Australopithecines except that it:
had less pronounced brow bridges
had more human-like teeth,
flatter face
a more rounded head and brain size of 600 to 750 ml.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Around 1.5 mya homo erectus probably emerged from Homo
habilis.
This also had the feature as Australopithecus and Homo
habilis.
It only differed from the latter two in that it was as tall as the
modern humans with a brain size of 700 ml to 1300 ml.
Later, about 150 000 to 200 00 years ago Homo erectus
gradually evolved into Homo sapiens with clear feature like:
a larger brain (1200 ml to 1800 ml) and
a flat face
A fossil called Floribad man, discovered in Florisbad in the
Free State is considered to be that of an earlir Homo sapiens.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Other four human species that were there when Homo sapiens
emerged were:
Homo neanderthalensis
Homo antecessor
Homo florensiensis and
Homo heidelbergenesis
Scientists believe they were equipped with better tools and social
structure that out-competed the above species to the point of
extinction.
Tracing the sequence of human evolution
Today
200 000 years ago
1.5 million years ago
2 million years ago
4 million years ago
6-7 million years ago
FOSSIL EVIDENCE
The information provided so far points to the fact that fossils
provide vital information of how an organism lived as well as
when and how it developed.
Fossils that fit between the common ancestor and modern humans
have the following features:
the skeletons that are more adapted to bipedalism.
they have a larger brain size, smaller face and smaller teeth.
The earliest hominids are believed to be from Africa, especially
South Africa, where many different fossils were discovered.
Genetic evidence: Mitochondrial DNA
To trace male lineage of our ancestry, only the Y-
chromosomal DNA can be used.
The major part of the Y chromosome does not undergo
crossing over with its mismatched X chromosome.
The DNA in the Y chromosome therefore is passed on
from father to son without being mixed.
Mitochondrial DNA
This can only be inherited from the mother.
At the time of fertilization, the sperm mitochondria stay
outside the egg cell, thus only the mother’s mitochondria
are passed on to her offspring.
Genetic evidence: Mitochondrial DNA
Analysis of Y-chromosomal DNA by Spencer Wells and his
colleagues has traced the lineage of every man to a common
ancestor who lived in East Africa about 60 000 years ago.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis point to an ancestral female who also
lived in East Africa around 150 000 years ago.
Scientists also believe that other species of humans were present
during this period.
These species like Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergenis, Homo
neanderthalensis and Homo florensiensis all became extinct.
Out of Africa Hypothesis
According to this hypothesis all human species
originated in Africa and then migrated to other parts
of the world.
This hypothesis is based mainly on the fossils that
are found in this continent.
Africa has the oldest fossils whereas the fossils that
are found in the other parts of the world are
younger.